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Pumpkin Banana Muffins

November 22, 2020 By Dianne 8 Comments

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Stack of Pumpkin Banana Muffins with text overlay
Pumpkin Banana Muffins on plate with text overlay
Pumpkin Banana Muffins with text overlay
muffin in my hand with text overlay

Pumpkin Banana Muffins on cooling rack with text overlay

Pumpkin Banana Muffins are the ultimate autumn treat! Made with pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and pecans, they’re full of the best flavors of the season. This easy recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

Pumpkin Banana Muffin in my hand

These muffins are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack with a cup of strong cinnamon tea. I also like to make them ahead of time so I have something light to nosh on on Thanksgiving morning, before the feasting begins.

two muffins stacked with pumpkin in background

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

With fall comes days dedicated to baking, and these Pumpkin Banana Muffins are amongst my favorite fall baked goods.

While I absolutely LOVE to bake, I don’t usually create my own recipes for baked goods. Baking is very sciencey where cooking is more like art. I have an artist’s brain that does not do well with scientific things. When cooking I can throw things together, taste, tweak and then set my dish free into the world. With baking, measurements need to be precise, and if the finished product doesn’t taste good, not much can be done with it except maybe feed it to the squirrels. 

Pumpkin Banana Muffins with cinnamon sticks and pecans

close up of muffin

So I was quite pleased with myself when I put together this Pumpkin Banana Muffins recipe and found that the baked muffins were very tasty! (I will admit that I started with an omnivorous recipe for gluten-filled pumpkin bread, but I made so many changes that it barely resembles the original thing.) After making these muffins, my kitchen did vaguely resemble a science lab that had recently experienced a horrible accident, but the muffins were worth the mess!

flour, banans, pecans, and other ingredients

How to Make Pumpkin Banana Muffins

These muffins are super easy to make!

  • First you mix together the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
  • Then you mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  • Next you mix the two together until they’re just combined. Be careful not to over mix them or your muffins might turn out a little gummy.
  • Now you fold you in the pecans.
  • Finally, you scoop the mixture into your muffin tin and bake them for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

making muffins collage

Gluten-Free Flour

I originally created this recipe back in 2012, after being wrongly diagnosed with celiac disease. I was have digestive issues, so the physician’s assistant at my doctor’s office ordered some blood tests. The test results came back and told me that even though blood tests aren’t 100% accurate, it looked like I had celiac. She referred me to a gastroenterologist, but it took about 6 weeks to get an appointment. I spent that 6 weeks drooling over fluffy bagels, wandering the pasta aisle at the grocery store, and generally feeling down. My digestive issues didn’t go away though. When I finally got to see the gastroenterologist, she took one look at my blood test and said I didn’t have celiac — the physician’s assistant had read the test backward and the test showed I was as far away from have it as possible. Insert eye-roll emoji here. 

muffin tin

In that 6 week period of time, I did a lot of experimenting with gluten-free flours. I found the combination of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch worked really well in muffins. If you don’t have a lot of gluten-free flours on hand and don’t want to go out and buy a bunch, you can swap them for an all-purpose mix. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Instead of the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and xantham gum, use 1½ cups of the 1-to-1 flour.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins on cooling rack

Storing Your Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Store your Pumpkin Banana Muffins in an air-tight container in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just defrost them on the counter before eating them.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins on cooling rack

plate with Pumpkin Banana Muffins square
Print

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Pumpkin Banana Muffins are the ultimate autumn treat! Made with pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and pecans, they're full of the best flavors of the season.

Course Bread
Cuisine American
Keyword pumpkin banana muffins, pumpkin muffins, vegan banana muffins
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Yields 18 muffins
Calories 296 kcal
Author Dianne

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • ¼ cup apple sauce
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large or 3-4 small)
  • 2 tablespoons plain, unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • ¼ cup tapioca starch
  • ¼ cup potato starch
  • ¾ teaspoon xantham gum
  • 3 teaspoons flax meal
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350° degrees. Line two muffin tins with paper muffin liners (you’ll need 18 liners total) or spray them lightly with oil.

  2. In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, apple sauce, maple syrup, pumpkin, banana, almond milk, and vanilla.

  3. In a large bowl mix together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, xantham gum, flax meal, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.

  4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Combine until just mixed — do not over mix. Gently fold in the pecans.

  5. Scoop the mixture into the muffin tins so that they are about ¾ full.
  6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

plate with Pumpkin Banana Muffins square

More Muffin Recipes You Might Enjoy Include:

  • Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
  • Cranberry Muffins
  • Carrot Cake Muffins
  • Lemon Poppy Zucchini Muffins

More Pumpkin Recipes You Might Enjoy Include:

  • Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
  • Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal 
  • No-Bake Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
  • Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

muffins on cooling rack horizontal

Filed Under: Vegan Muffin and Bread Recipes, Vegan Recipes Tagged With: bananas, gluten-free, pecans, pumpkin

About Dianne

Dianne Wenz is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Vegan Lifestyle Coach, Plant-Based Diet Nutrition Specialist, and Plant-Based Chef, as well as the author of Truly Healthy Vegan Cookbook.

Previous Post: « Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie
Next Post: Vegan Holiday Gifts Guide »

Reader Interactions

   

Comments

  1. Jessica Caneal says

    October 12, 2012 at 8:56 AM

    I feel the same intimidation with coming up with my own baking recipes. I have a list at home of ideas for new and creative baked goods that sadly, have yet to become tangible goods. It is intimidating to even start because if it doesn’t come out great the first time, then you’ve done all the work for a mediocre result. I give you extra credit for coming up with a gluten free and vegan recipe that works!

    Reply
    • Dianne says

      October 12, 2012 at 9:49 AM

      Thanks, Jessica!

      Reply
  2. Gabby @ the veggie nook says

    October 14, 2012 at 9:48 AM

    I know what you mean- baking is very intimidating! I usually shy away from coming up with my own recipes. But when you come up with one that works, it’s that much more rewarding isn’t it?

    These look gorgeous! Thanks for sharing on Healthy Vegan Friday!

    Reply
    • Dianne says

      October 14, 2012 at 4:52 PM

      Thanks, Gabby!

      Reply
  3. urbanvegan says

    October 14, 2012 at 6:36 PM

    These look lovely, Dianne! I am just learning about gluten-free baking, so I’ll have to give these a whirl soon.

    Reply
    • Dianne says

      October 14, 2012 at 6:53 PM

      Thank you so much, Dynise!

      Reply
  4. Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says

    October 17, 2012 at 6:21 AM

    Yum yum and more yum! I love the squirrel picture! 🙂 Too cute! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! Thanks for helping get our party kicked off this week! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I hope that you’ll join us this week! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

    Reply
    • Dianne says

      October 17, 2012 at 8:18 AM

      Thank you, Cindy! I have another great recipe lined up this week!

      Reply

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Dianne Wenz

Hi! I'm Dianne Wenz and I am a Holistic Health Coach, Vegan Lifestyle Coach, Plant-Based Diet Nutrition Specialist, Plant-Based Chef, and cookbook author. I offer group and individual nutrition and lifestyle coaching programs to people across the U.S., and I teach cooking classes in Northern New Jersey. Contact me today to learn more and to schedule a complimentary breakthrough session!

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